1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device and a method for managing a piezo inkjet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a piezo inkjet head includes a pressure chamber, a nozzle, a passage, and a piezo actuator generating driving pressure. The piezo actuator is generally attached closely around the pressure chamber and may discharge an ink droplet from the nozzle by generating pressure according to a change in displacement in the piezo actuator.
In this configuration, the nozzle part of the inkjet head is exposed to air, such that air is easily introduced into the inkjet head at a contacting surface of ink and air. The introduced air significantly reduces the pressure generated from the deformation of the piezo actuator, thereby stopping the discharge of the droplet from the nozzle.
Meanwhile, the related art uses a method of confirming the state of the nozzle as described above using a CCD camera or a method of confirming the state of the nozzles by the naked eyes through simple printing.
However, when the CCD camera is used, there are problems in that additional components such as a CCD device, a lens, or the like, need to be attached to a printer and a considerable amount of time in determining whether all the nozzles are abnormal is consumed when there are a large number of heads.
Further, even when simple printing is used, there is a problem in that a printer operator needs to confirm the presence and absence of discharge.